WashPo debunks 'Israel' pretexts for killing Palestinians

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The Washington Post
27 May 2023 15:19
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The Israeli occupation forces are murdering Palestinians left and right for the sake of killing them, as a WashPo report reveals that the occupation carried out illegal extrajudicial killings.

Mourners carry the bodies of Palestinians who were among six killed in an Israeli raid during their funeral in the West Bank city of Jenin, March 8, 2023 (AP)

The Washington Post published an investigative report highlighting the brutality of Israeli forces in targeting Palestinian civilians, especially children.

The newspaper report underlines the fact that Israeli raids have long been a fixture of life for Palestinians living under occupation; typically, they would be carried out swiftly at night and end in apprehension.

IOF systematic raids peaked under the current government, which the paper describes as the most right-wing government in the occupation's history.

By mid-May 108 Palestinians, including 19 children, were murdered by the IOF in the West Bank and Al-Quds, the newspaper reported citing UN reports.

Most notable in the report was an attached video graphic recreation of the IOF raid on Jenin in mid-March, which led to the death of four Palestinians, namely Nidal Khazim, Youssef Shreim, Omar Awadin, a child aged 14, and Louay Al-Saghir.

The investigation synchronized 15 video clips collected from cameras of shops in the vicinity in addition to a 3-dimensional video graphic constructed based on the testimonies of nine witnesses.

The attack saw officers charging down the street with AR-style rifles and a handgun before opening fire and shooting more than 20 bullets and killing two Palestinians who did not appear to be armed, which the Israeli occupation claimed were "militants".

WashPo quoted several experts as saying the Israeli storming was a violation of the international ban on extrajudicial killings and that the violation is exacerbated by the fact that those the occupation claimed were armed posed no threat to the IOF. One notable aspect is the fact that the Israeli occupation carried out the killing amid a heavy presence of civilians.

Michael Lynk, former UN special rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian territories, said the killing in question were "profoundly unlawful", adding that the unlawfulness was "heightened by the apparent choice to conduct these targeted killings in a busy civilian market."

Neither man targeted in the raid "appeared to present any threat, let alone an imminent threat, and [both] could have been arrested," Lynk added.

Earlier this week, the Israeli occupation forces stormed morning the Palestinian West Bank city of Qabatiya, opening fire at civilians and injuring one young man in the process.

Local sources reported that a young man was injured after he was hit by shrapnel from the Israeli occupation's rubber-coated steel bullets during confrontations that broke out in the city after the IOF stormed it.

The wounded young man was transferred to the Ariha Governmental Hospital for treatment. The Israeli occupation forces also arrested liberated prisoner Fadi Zakarneh after storming his house in Qabatiya.

Palestinian youth confronted the Israeli forces using guns and IEDs that targeted the occupation. The Israeli occupation's storming of Palestinian cities at the crack of dawn is commonplace as part of its systemic policy of terrorizing the Palestinian people. On Thursday morning, Israeli occupation forces raided the Aqabat Jaber camp, Ariha, before they were confronted by the Palestinian Resistance, resulting in a multitude of injuries.